Sunday, February 15, 2009

What Is Man's Purpose on Earth?

Recently I stumbled on a book: The Shack By William P. Young on amazon.com, which happens to be one of my favorite stores. I looked at it and kept going, but something pulled me back to it. I decided to look at it more closely; I read the reviews and got interested. I bought it and downloaded it on my Kindle. I got interested not because I am very religious, which I am not, but because of my curiosity about the book's theme. I am a filmmaker and therefore naturally curious about new subjects, or new takes on popular subjects or topics. The theme of the book is in a nutshell about a personal relationship with God, God the father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit; although religion comes to mind automatically when you think of this topic, this book is indeed not religious at all. And, as I mentioned, I am not deeply religious, in fact, I am not religious at all. I believe in God wholeheartedly, always have, always will; an irony you might say, since I claim that I am not religious and all. But truly, I am not religious at all, I just believe in God immensely; and Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Perhaps I should give you a little background about me.

Although today I can say I am a proud citizen of the United States of America, I was born and raised in Nigeria, in the Niger Delta Region. I went to a Catholic elementary school, and a Catholic High School. I was an altar boy for many years. I was indeed very close to going to the Seminary to become a Priest. As a matter of fact, many of my child hood friends became Catholic Priests. And for many years, as a practicing Catholic, I questioned a lot of things I observed growing up in the Catholic church. I had a lot of reservations about some of the practices et al. But I always defended the Catholic church often times against criticisms from friends who were muslims, or baptists, or witnesses. Although I had my personal reservations, I was still quick to stand up for the church. But by the time I went off to college in Ibadan, Nigeria I was already drifting away from the Catholic church gradually; I only went to mass every now and then, not as constantly as before. The University of Ibadan, my Alma mater, had, and perhaps still has, a very beautiful Catholic Chapel; I only went there a few times. I was practically forcing myself to go to mass, an unusual thing I must say. I was struggling with my belief in the teachings and practices of the Catholic church, although I would rather not go into details at this time. Although I was drifting away from the church itself, I was still very much in tune with the fact that God created the heavens and the earth, and that He sent His only begotten son Jesus Christ to die for my sins, our sins. I kid you not, I am a sinner. Always have been. But by God's grace, through His son, I am saved. I have always believed in God. I just do not subscribe to all the man made rules of religion. Some specific events in my life have proven God's existence, might, and presence in my life. An example is when I arrived at the University of Ibadan years ago. I was confronted with the possibility of being homeless, so far away from home. Because in those days, possibly today as well, it was easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a student to find accommodation on campus. Literally. I had no choice but to close my eyes and pray, believe it or not; I got a room by a chance of ten thousand to one. Before that, on the final exams in high school--the West African School Certificate (WASC)--I registered for eight subjects like everyone else but ran to the principal's office the following morning to add one more subject--Christian Religious Knowledge (CRK), for fear that I would fail if I do not pick that subject. I was the only one to ever attempt that many subjects in one exam in that school. Everyone tried to dissuade me, even my parents. But to cut a long story short, I prayed and did extremely well with several distinctions. JAMB--College entrance exam--was the same story. Coming to America was the same story. God has always come through for me in spite of my sinful nature and a lack of religion. I have always believed in communicating with God directly and personally. But the big turning point in my life was in college when I met a Scripture Union girl on campus. I was smitten by her, I followed her everywhere, fellowship and all. I started studying the bible differently; and you can say scales fell off my eyes. Literally. I quit the Catholic church completely and never looked back since then.

I have gone to different churches in the last few years. Baptist, Pentecostal, etc. I have met some true believers, I have associated with some real followers of God; although I am not judging anyone since I have neither the wisdom nor the authority to do so, I have also met some people who have not exactly encouraged me in the pursuit of God, and knowledge of God. But be it as it may, I still maintain that personal connect with God. I do not believe anyone can take you to God. That is a personal choice, and personal chore. You must do it on your own. But coming back to the book: The Shack by William P. Young; I could not put it down even for a moment. I could not help myself. It is a compelling story about an everyday guy's relationship with God. I can not say enough about the book, neither can I give away the plot. But I beseech you to read it. I promise, you will never think of God the same way again. The book opens your eyes to a whole new concept of our existence, our purpose on earth. It makes you remember everything you have ever wondered about, spiritually; it opens your life in front of you like a movie. It is a must read.

We can discover Man's Purpose on Earth.

Yes We Can!

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